New York Subway

Underground (2013)

Narrow Ends (2013)

     For this post, I wanted to share a few photos of the  New York subway. The New York subway was first opened on October 27th, 1904 and is run by New York City Transit Authority. It is one of the most expensive public transportation systems in the world with over 460 stations and provided over 1 billion rides in just 2012 alone. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and has a reasonably low prices to ride. The New York subway is the largest subway in the US and the 7th largest in the world. It is extremely convenient and easy to use. For these photographs, I wanted to capture the underground feel of the subway. It feels enclosed and when there aren't many people around kind of spooky. The lights are hazy, the tracks are endless and the colors are faded. The first thing that I wanted to capture for these photos is walking down into the subway. Underground depicts this. As you can tell, it is very narrow and dirty. It is also spooky with there being no people. You do not know where the stairs stop, or where the stairs lead. Narrow Ends, gives off this tight, and endless feeling also. As you walk down the walkways, it seems as though, the tracks never end. You once again do not know where the track ends or where it begins. Looking down the lines, it is impossible to see where it begins and where it ends. For Endless, the feeling of aloneness is present. There is a hazy yellow filtering the air, and a smell of rusted metal mixes in the air. The track is curved and there is several different textures: a grim solid concrete platform, a sharp poignant metallic track, a beat up ground below the track, and a silky smooth white, purple, and black title. I like how this shot, captures all the textures and contrasts. There is also a good sense of colors here, the subway may be grim and dirty looking here and there but it is not black and white. You feel as though you have been left behind and left in the dust. For Still Lines, I wanted to capture that sense of stillness that the subway is without the people and trains. In this shoot, the lines seem so defined and perfected. Everything is straight looking and the lighting is white. Compare to Endless, the subway seems organized and no longer spooky. It is a more optimistic view of the subway. Instead of wondering where the train went like in Endless or feeling left behind, you now feel the anticipation for getting on and arriving at your destination. Putting all this together, the subway can be viewed as both spooky and exciting.            

Endless (2013)

 

Still Lines (2013)

Statue Of Liberty

     For this post, I want to share some photographs of the marvelous, grand, Statue Of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States by France in the late 1880s to celebrate their friendship developed from the American Revolution. It is one the world's most iconic momentums and a huge symbol of the United States for freedom. To see the Statue of Liberty, you take a ferry over to Liberty Island. Ferry shows what a typical ferry looks like. This is one in particular is not the one I took, and it might be a ferry used for business purposes but it is still very similar to the actual ones. What makes this photo interesting is also the fact that the ferry has gas coming off. This makes a statement on pollution and points out its importance. We need to find eco-friendly ways to transport. In this scene, a beautiful sea is invaded by a bulky piece of metal, trekking across the water. There has to be better ways to transport without causing so much harm to Earth. 

     For Can't Be Stopped, I wanted to show the enduring power of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is not just simply a beautiful statue, it is a symbol of the United States and its strength. The U.S. is a place of opportunity and dreams. With hard work, and positivity, these dreams can be attainable. In this photography, Lady Liberty is looking up, showing optimism. Without optimism and believing in yourself, life is not living. Everyone is important and has something in them. Everyone has a talent or something special that makes life brighter. With this mind set, you can't be stopped from achieving your dreams. Another thing that is cool is that I saw the Statue of Liberty during the government shutdown. The State Government was able to open the Statue and this action shows how important this Statue is. 

     For Dress and Side, I wanted to focus on the individual details of the Statue. A big amount of time was put in each line and curve of the statue. These should not go unnoticed. Another thing that is quite amazing about the Statue is that as you walk around this island and look at her, different emotions are expressed on her face. The angling of where you are looking at her is important. For Persevere, Lady Liberty looks like a woman of determination and hard work. She is not giving up and letting anything go. As you move, she looks different.   

     For Tired, she looks sad and exhausted. She has been holding this torch for so long and just waiting for action. The sunlight casts dark shadows under her eyes. As you can tell from Can't Be Stopped, Persevere, and Tired, how she looks is dependent from where you are standing when looking at her. Lastly, for City View, I wanted to show what NYC looks like from Liberty Island. I like this photo a lot as it represents all that is NYC. There is nature such as parks, represented by the grass; people, represented by the crowd; transportation, represented by a helicopter in the sky and boats on the water; and huge skyscrapers, represented by all the buildings. All together, these photographs represent what the US is and what NYC is. If you visit NYC, definitely visit the Statue of Liberty.    

Ferry (2013)

Can't Be Stopped (2013)

Dress (2013)

Dress (2013)

Persevere (2013) 

 

Tired (2013)

City View (2013)

A Night in Brooklyn

Overhead (2013)

Hostel (2013)

For this post, I wanted to contrast Day in Brooklyn. At night time, the Brooklyn area is lit up with grand buildings and is very beautiful. The first two photographs are of the hostel my group stayed at. Overhead depicts the common area outside the rooms. The shades and lights create a good contrast between contemporary art and the old architecture of the building. I also like all the textures. Everything from the grass to the speckled wall to the tiled walkway is present. Hostel, shows the outside of the hostel. It is very urban and looks a little spooky at night. The building gives off a yellowed light, similar to ones given off in horror films. Also, the fact there are are no people or sense of movement in this photograph, gives off the idea that building could be abandoned. In particular, I liked the lines of the building the most. There are off several different thicknesses and colors. The pattern of lines is disorganized, raising the idea of controlled chaos. The building may be perfectly rectangular in shape, but the lines that make up the walls and windows are not. For Night Sky, I was standing by the water looking over at New York City. I like the boat that is visible and moving across the water. The city is busy and buzzing. The buildings are packed and each one has its own character. Compared to Brooklyn, New York City is populated and alive. For The Bridge, I was once again capturing New York City. The Brooklyn Bridge is what connects the two and it is smashing. The bridge is simple but beautiful with strings of lights that look like those on a christmas tree. I also like the trees that are present. One of the amazing things about being in these urban cities is not only the enormous skyscrapers, but also the invading present of greenery and nature. In a place filled with so much pollution and overrun by mankind, you would think that trees and greenery would not be able to survive, but this is false. There are several parks and greenery found in both New York City and Brooklyn. I hope you enjoyed this post, I plan on uploading some photographs of Central Park and New York City very soon. Make sure to check it out for the next coming week.      

Night Sky (2013)

The Bridge (2013)

A Day in Brooklyn

Escalating Art (2013)

Color Adds Life (2013)

For this post, I wanted to share some photographs from my recent trip to New York. I went with my school: Barrett, the Honors College from Arizona State University. For the first few nights, we stayed in Brooklyn and took the subway to get to New York City. I took tons of photographs and plan on sharing quite a bunch for the next posts or so. I went with a group of wonderful students and had a great experience. Brooklyn, New York is home to over 2.5 million people and is considered the 4th most populous city in the US. It is extremely urban and covered with art. The streets are not clean and the walls are covered with graffiti. The pavements are old and the roads are worn down. It feels spooky, as though it is every one for themselves. I tried to capture these feelings in my photographs. For Escalating Art, a once red wall and steel platform have been invaded by graffiti and transported into a symbol of urban life. It is tough, it is rough, it is hard to survive. These artists had to fight for the space and make do with what they have.

Covered Walls (2013)

 For Color Adds Life, I wanted to show how graffiti can help a place and be good. In this scene, the pavements are worn and trash is about, but there is one thing going for this area, the rainbow wall. This wall of colors adds a sense of happiness, pride and free expression. This once depressing area has now a shining light. Art and color can really bring life to an area. On the other hand, graffiti can also hurt a space and make it appear broken.

For Covered Walls, the building appears to be run down and trashed. The art takes away from the structure and the structure has not been cleaned in ages. Broken Down also gives off this vibe. Instead of graffiti being art and adding liveliness and character to a building like in Color Adds Live, the builds are invaded by pointless markings. Writing a name or word to mark up a building does not help the building. Instead, markings such as those trash up the building and prevent others from properly cleaning the buildings. The markings are permanent and symbolize the everyone is for themselves ideas. Not thinking of others, this markings are thrown across the buildings and the beautiful of the brick work is diminished.

Sadness and Freight (2013)

Sadness and Freight also captures the spooky, alone feeling in Brooklyn. In this shot, no one is outside and only a hanging stuffed animal is seen. It is very grim and unsettling. Why would someone hang a stuff animal and why are there no people? Spooky.              

Broken Down (2013)

Water

Rocky Side (2013)

Masked (2013)

Rush Down (2013)

For these photos, I wanted to capture one of life most fundamental necessities, water. It is something so beautiful and majestic. For Rocky Side, I wanted to show how fast water flows. Water is one of the  of the most deadly and dangerous elements of life. It can rush down mountain sides or streets faster than one can escape sometimes. I like the contrast of colors from dark to light browns, and I like how there are multiple textures visible. This photography demonstrates the pure power of water. For Rushing Down, I wanted to slow down the motion of water and relish in its beauty. Water is so clear that is glistens. This photography also displays how water flows in chaos. The water does not simply flow straight down, it curves with the foundation and out past the rims. There is no order, just how in life there is no exact order. For Masked, I wanted to show that water can be found in the most unlikely places. In this shot, water is hidden and covered by barren, dry, rocky cliffs. One could easily walk by and not notice the water. This symbolizes that sometimes the best things in life are hidden away, hard to find. Lastly, for No Mercy, I wanted to show the pure power of water. It is mighty and bold. In this shot, water is bursting through the air, soaring to unpredicted highs. It towers over ever the trees and humans ruthlessly. As beautiful as water is, it is uncontrollable, wild and free. With enough pressure, this water will reach any height and travel any direction. With these photographs, I wanted to convey the idea that in life, sometimes the most beautiful things are the most dangerous and unpredictable things. Other times, is it what is not easily seen. Beauty is a mighty thing.

No Mercy (2013)

Lines: A Look at the World

Night Crowd (2013)

For this post, I wanted to show how objects we perceive in the real world are based on lines. For Night Crowd, I wanted show how like the night, lines can be deceiving. In this photography, it is hard to tell if the object is three dimensional or flat. The lines also seem to blend and makes it hard to tell where the others start and end. This is just how in life, we can not always see what is coming or understand what is happening. We must just go with the flow and do our best to understand what is happening.

For Golden Times, I wanted to show off the more glamours side of lines. In this shot, the lines are clearly defined and displayed. This photograph also shows that there is variety in life. Not every line is the same, there are several different types and lengths and colors in this photograph all vary through. In life, there are so many different kinds of people and no two people are exactly the same.  

Golden Times (2013)

For Hidden Soul, I wanted to capture how lines can be curved and manipulated to create shapes. What I really like about this shot, is the face that there are no eyes. This to me represents how there is no one single identify to define the world. Anyone and everyone can fit this mask. I also like the color contrasts from the blue sky to the green lighting posts to the golds and whites and browns on the mask itself. This once again shows how life is full of variety and diversity.   

Hidden Soul (2013)

For Built Lines, I wanted to show how lines can contrast between nature and mankind. In this shot, we see the by-pass over the hover damn. I like how the lines appear to contrast with the textures of the rocks and mountains and once again several different colors are shown.  

Built Lines (2013)

For Reflective Mirrors, I wanted to once again wanted to show how lines can be deceiving. In this photograph is is hard to comprehend what is there and what is just a refection. The entire scene seems almost too bizarre. Yet at the same time, this bizarreness is what makes the photograph beautiful. When looking at this photograph, it becomes apparent that it can be anything and mean anything to that person viewing it. This is similar to how in life, everyone can be around the same things but everyone can see them differently. Life is what you make of it.

Reflective Mirrors (2013)

 For Metallic Lines, I wanted to once again show the contrast between nature and mankind. I took this photo at the Hoover Damn and I really like how strange it looks. It is almost impossible to tell what it is.  I also like the different shades of colors each part of the photograph has. The sky varies from baby blue to pale blue. The rocks vary from dark browns to copper browns. I also like how there are both vertical and horizontal lines in this photograph. The idea that life is strange and difficult to understand can be represented by this photo.    

Metallic Lines (2013)

With all these photographs, I hope to convey the message that life is full of diversity, mystery and wonder. Without diversity and colors, life would not be interesting and without lines, life would not be exciting. Sometimes the best things in life, are those in which are not defined or understood.